Amren Ortega

Girls Break Things by Amren Ortega

High school senior Joyce Liu-Stone is the odd one out in her family. While her moms are both talented artists, Joyce is only interested in one thing: robotics. Well, robotics and dating her teammate, Nyx, but Joyce isn’t ready to admit to herself that she actually has something in common with her moms. When Nyx breaks her ankle in a freak accident, the school board bans their combat robotics team from competing in a prestigious tournament. But the team isn’t that easily defeated. They decide to compete in secret, no matter the cost – even if that cost is expulsion.

As the competition advances, Joyce blurts out her feelings for Nyx and discovers that Nyx has been crushing on her, too. They promise the team not to let their relationship affect the competition, but high school love isn’t that easy to control. Joyce and Nyx forget to bring an important part to their competition, seriously jeopardizing their chances of winning the state championship and the college scholarship Joyce needs to attend her dream school. It’s up to Joyce to stitch the team back together and win the competition – and get the girl.

GIRLS BREAK THINGS combines the female/female romance of HOW TO MAKE A WISH with the Discovery Channel show BattleBots. GIRLS BREAK THINGS is a 70,000 word, #OwnVoices LGBT YA contemporary work based on my partner’s experience as a half-Taiwanese high school student and my own coming-out.


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